In Sickness And In Health
by SpirkTrekker42
Summary: Kidfic!  Young Spock is sick with the Vulcan flu.  Can his best friend Jimmy help him feel better?  K/S slash.  Written for the KiScon.


Disclaimer: The rights to Star Trek belong to Gene Roddenberry, and NuTrek belongs to J.J. Abrams, Orci, and Kurtzman.

A/N: Written for the KiScon zine.

_In Sickness And In Health_

Jim and Spock had been given an all expenses-paid trip to Risa, courtesy of Spock's grandmother, T'Pau. They had saved up their leave time and were finally using it for a vacation to celebrate their tenth anniversary.

The bonded pair had slept late that morning, as they were quite tired from the activities of the night before. Spock awoke early, having the urge to give Jim his anniversary present right then and there.

"Hey, sweetheart, what's goin' on?" Jim asked, his voice thick with sleep.

"I wish to share my gift to you, Jim. I cannot wait any longer."

"Then let's not wait." Kirk's grin practically blinded his mate. "What is it?"

"I wish to show you one of my most cherished memories," Spock said quietly. "It is one where you chose to stay by my side as a child." He turned over to caress his mate's cheek, inhaling his familiar musky scent. "My selfless t'hy'la."

"Me, selfless? This I have got to see," Jim teased, allowing Spock's fingers to take their usual position along the side of his face. He loved it when Spock showed him memories, and this morning was no exception. "Ready whenever you are."

.~.

Twelve-year old Spock was sick, really sick with a version of the Vulcan flu.

"Hi, Jim, thank you so much for coming on such short notice," Spock heard his mother say from the next room.

"How is he?" Jim asked immediately.

"He's… been better." Was Amanda's reluctant answer. "I had better prepare you for what you are going to find."

"There is no need for that, Mother. Not while I can simply demonstrate," Spock spat, entering the room. He began to pace the length of the ornate living room. "I thought I asked you not to invite him."

"You don't want me here?" Jim blinked, confused by Spock's reaction. They were best friends, for God's sake. Surely his Vulcan friend wasn't worried about propriety or keeping up appearances. He wasn't some foreign dignitary of Sarek's, after all. "Spock, I don't care if you're sick. I wanted to come visit you because you're my friend."

"If you were my friend, you would stay away." The Vulcan stopped pacing when he came to the couch, took a seat, and began to rock back and forth. Jim thought that the pendulum-like action reminded him of the old grandfather clock that resided in his own living room.

"Why is he doing that?"

"It's one of the symptoms," Amanda sighed. "Jim, his flu isn't like the flu you are used to. The Vulcan flu is an illness of the mind."

"Okay," said Jim, shrugging. "Anything else I should know?"

"His concentration is not good. For example, he won't be able to play chess with you today."

"Why not just tell him I cannot read while you are at it," Spock snapped, growling softly as he looked away from them both. Amanda gave Jim an apologetic look.

"Er, anything else Mrs. Spock?"

Amanda hid a smile. "How many times have I asked you to call me, Amanda?"

"Lots, Mrs. Spock," Jim said with a grin. Then his expression turned serious. "Is there anything else I should know about?"

Amanda glanced back at her son. "He has been prone to fits of aggression. He's never directed them at me, just at some of our valuables."

"We have far too many valuables, Mother. Surely if I destroyed a few they would not be missed."

"Spock, honey, I know you're not feeling well, but must you stay in such a bad mood?"

"This is me in a good mood," said Spock. "Come, Jim. I suppose if you are here, I must entertain you."

Jim wordlessly followed his friend back to his bedroom.

"In my present state, there is not much I can do for you in terms of entertainment," Spock said as he took as seat on his bed. Jim sat at his friend's desk and faced him, hoping that he would somehow be able to connect with his friend. "I tire easily, and require nourishment more than usual. As you just saw, I am quite irritable, and frankly I do not understand why you would wish to remain in my presence."

"Look, I don't care if your mind is sick." Jim crossed his arms over his chest. "Is that why you're being so snotty? Because you're afraid I wouldn't be your friend anymore?"

"I do not know what you mean," was the Vulcan's flippant.

"Oh, I think you do." Jim stood up, and advanced towards his friend. "I've called you on your B.S. before, and I'll do it again. So let me ask you, are you afraid I won't be your friend because of this mind-sickness?"

"Yes," Spock whispered. "I cannot control my body any longer. Humans might enjoy being waited on when they are sick with the Terran flu, but our flu is very shameful for a Vulcan."

"Only if you let it be," Jim challenged. "For the last time, Spock, I don't give a rat's ass that you can't think right. You're still you inside, you're still my friend who saved me from those guys at school who were screwing around with me about my father's death. Do you remember that, do you remember how you promised me that you would always look out for me now that we are friends?"

"I have an eidetic memory," the Vulcan mumbled. "Of course I remember."

"Yeah, well, that is the exact same way I feel about you, and if you don't like it, tough." Jim glared at him, his gaze so fierce that Spock had to look away.

"I am aware that you have tickets to see your favorite musical group, Blind Cheetah, in concert tonight," the Vulcan reminded him. "I would not want you to miss this experience on my account."

"Spock, if you truly don't want me here, I'll go," Jim said patiently. "But I want to stay. I can always see the band another time. C'mon, we could have so much fun together!"

"I cannot believe that you would simply give up this musical experience. You have been talking about it for months now."

"Well, my best friend wasn't sick then," Jim said dismissively. "I won't deny that I'm not a little disappointed, but it doesn't matter. This is what friends do. Friends don't leave their sick friends alone. Not when I know that having me around will help you feel better." Knowing it was a Vulcan taboo and not caring, he reached for Spock's hand. "Please, Spock. Let me stay. Let me help you feel better."

"I cannot believe you are here of your own volition," Spock said, his voice broken. "Perhaps my mother bribed you."

Jim sighed. What was it going to take to get through to this stubborn friend of his?

"I learned something interesting in school the other day about geese," Jim began, seemingly changing the subject.

"And what is that?" Was Spock's frosty response.

"You know how Terran geese fly in a V formation, right? Well, if one of the geese gets sick or injured and has to drop out of the formation, two other healthy geese will follow him or her to the ground. They will stay with the sick goose until it gets better, and then together, all three of them will eventually catch up and rejoin the flock."

Spock blinked at him. "I fail to understand the purpose of that story."

Jim almost banged his head on Spock's bed, but stopped himself, remembering that he must have patience with his friend.

"Don't you get it? I'm your goose, Spock. I dropped everything to be with you when you're sick."

"What happens if the sick goose dies?"

"Argh!" Jim threw up his hands. "Now you are just feeling sorry for yourself."

"My mind is not functioning properly, how would you feel?" Spock roared, leaping up to meet his stubborn human friend.

"I'm sorry you've got the flu, but I don't deserve to be treated like this. I guess you're right, you'd probably be better off alone." Jim inwardly grinned… he knew that would do the trick. He turned to go.

"No, wait, do not leave!" Spock looked as panicked as Jim had ever seen him. "I love my mother, but her company can be overbearing at times. I would much rather have yours."

"You sure you're not going to yell at me anymore?"

"I cannot make any promises, but I will try my best not to yell," Spock said.

"Good." Jim grinned at him. "You just need to take your mind off feeling sick. I can help you there. Wanna hear about how I borrowed my dad's red convertible and took it for a test-drive while my stepdad was at work?"

"Not particularly, but it does not seem I have a choice." Spock feigned exasperation.

Jim pretended like he hadn't heard Spock's last comment. "So this time I nearly made it up to one hundred miles per hour…"

.~.

Spock sharply pulled his t'hy'la out of the meld.

"Woah, what happened?" Jim asked, his head pounding from the quick release.

"I knew then," Spock said simply. "I had only forgotten. Fascinating."

Jim frowned. "Knew? Knew what?"

"I knew then that we would always be together," the Vulcan explained. "Not that we would be bonded, per se, but I knew that we'd always have a special bond of friendship. My mother never told you that one of the other symptoms of the Vulcan flu was that we become especially intuitive at that time. That symptom in particular is the most shameful at all, so we rarely speak of it. I thought I was hallucinating when I recognized you as t'hy'la that day."

"You weren't. I knew too, Spock." Jim smiled wryly. "I was always drawn to you, from the moment we met, when you saved me from those bullies."

"I will always save you, as long as you are mine to protect." Spock kissed Jim's brow, and they basked in the warmth of their marriage bond.

The End


End file.
